banking crisis

The latest scandal to hit HSBC, Britain’s biggest bank, again throws a spotlight on the enormous failings of the finance sector. It is also a source of embarrassment for governments present and past – but also for the Church of England.

One of the big last-ditch Scottish referendum pitches by the three dominant Westminster parties and their friends in the City of London is to appeal to voters to reject self-government and instead accept the opinion and sway of the giant transnational banks – the likes of Goldman Sachs, J P Morgan and Deutsche Bank.

Has George Osborne completely forgotten the banking crisis, or has it just slipped his mind? In an interview on Radio 4 this morning he spoke of his excitement at the new products the financial services industry may invent to sell to people who will soon get access to their pension pots.

There is an excellent letter in today's Financial Times from James Skinner, a trustee of the New Economics Foundation, referring to the 'conspiracy of silence' surrounding the creation of money by commercial banks.